Mile High - A Picture Tells a Thousand Words
by debbiexmx
Summary: This is a sequel to my story "Mile High" Jack has had to deal with Rose's betrayal but can he find love again? Or will Cal ruin it for him once more?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – I decided recently to do a sequel to Mile High. I'm not entirely sure yet how long this will be or exactly how it'll end. As always I love getting your feedback and reviews so if you have a suggestion then let me know! You'll notice I've nabbed a couple of characters from other movies plus I've coincided Billy Zane's characters from Titanic and the Roommate. It's not a crossover though. I'm not going down the whole psycho roommate road, just purely nabbing a couple of characters lol**

**Chapter 1**

Looking around the large campus, she took in the tall buildings and all the different faces as they rushed past her. Taking out the piece of paper from the back pocket of her skinny jeans, she read over the name of the building that she would be staying in. She looked around quickly at the names on the buildings before her eyes finally rested on the one she was looking for. Smiling to herself she hauled her large suitcase towards the steps leading up to the door and pulled it open, almost falling over her feet as she made her way inside.

"Hey." The girl sitting behind the desk took her by surprise. "Name?"

"Sara Matthews." She smiled, resting on the wooden desk.

The girl looked down the list of names before finally stopping at hers. "Ah, yeah you're in room 316. Welcome." She smiled, handing her a key.

"Thanks." Sara took the key and pulled her bags towards the elevator.

She finally made her way along the long corridor and stopped when she reached her door. She opened it and smiled as she was greeted by the spacious surroundings in front of her. There was an empty bed in front of her and another to her left. Sara closed the door behind her and made her way across the room to the bed in the corner and dropped herself down on it. She smiled at herself as she thought about the last few weeks. She had been ecstatic when she received the acceptance letter through from UCLA to tell her she had been accepted into their fashion design course and she already had her heart set on the classes she wanted to take. She had finally broken up with her obsessive boyfriend Jason and now she was happy. She was starting a new chapter in her life. She sighed as she stood up and lifted her suitcase onto the bed, unzipping it quickly. Sara smiled as she pulled out the first thing her hand came to. A picture frame. She ran her fingers gently over it before placing it onto the nightstand at the foot of the bed. The two pretty girls in the picture smiling straight back at her. It had been taken only a few months before she lost her sister Emily. Sara was only nine years old but she could remember it like it was yesterday. Shaking off the memory, she ran her fingers through her long chocolate brown hair, pulling it up onto the top of her head before finally letting it fall back down over her shoulders. Remembering she had left a bag outside the room, she quickly walked to the door pulling it open before stepping out and straight into the path of another girl with a trolley.

"Sorry!" she stuttered as the things on her trolley fell off. "I'm a bad driver."

Sara laughed as the girl walked to the front of the trolley and held out her hand. "I'm Tracy."

"Sara. Here let me help you with this." She smiled, bending down to pick up the bags. After helping, she waved goodbye to the blonde haired girl and turned back into her room, closing the door behind her and walking back over to her bed to unpack the rest of her things.

Sara turned quickly as she heard the door click. She smiled as she saw a young girl appear in the doorway. She looked around before finally turning and resting her eyes on Sara.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully, stretching her hand out to Sara. "I'm Rebecca."

"Sara." She smiled, shaking her hand.

The two sat in their room for the next few hours getting to know each other when there was a knock at the door. Sara stood and made her way across the room and opened the door, smiling as she saw Tracy and another girl she didn't recognise.

"Come on! Tau Sigma Kappa is having a party, you have to come!" Tracy laughed, placing her hand into a prayer sign and pouting her lips. "Please?"

Sara smiled and glanced back to Rebecca who was still sitting on her bed. "What do you think?" she asked.

Tracy peered round the doorframe to see the girl Sara was talking to.

"Frat parties aren't really my thing. You go though." Rebecca smiled.

"Are you sure?" Sara asked.

Rebecca nodded and smiled at the girls standing at the door as she walked towards them.

"So? What do you say?" Tracy tugged on Sara's arm until she turned back to face them.

"Yeah alright then." She laughed. "I'll see you later Rebecca." She smiled as she grabbed her jacket from the wardrobe, following them out the door.

...

The next day, Sara woke up clutching her pillow to her face, the sunlight assaulting her eyelids. Slowly she opened them and sighed as she felt the pounding start in her head. She hadn't intended on having so much drink and shuddered to think how she'd gotten home. She looked down and realised she was only lying on top of the bed and was still fully dressed including her shoes.

_Classy!_ She thought to herself as she sat up. She looked around the room quickly and noticed that Rebecca's bed was made and she was nowhere to be seen. Lifted her arm up, she glanced at her watch and stared in shock as she realised it was after 3 in the afternoon.

_I need coffee. _ She thought, pulling herself to her feet. She turned her head and smiled as she noticed two painkillers and a bottle of water sitting beside the picture frame. Rebecca certainly was a roommate in a million Sara thought, throwing the tablets to the back of her throat and taking a large gulp of the water. Grabbing her shower basket, she left the room and made her way along the corridor to the showers to freshen up.

Once she felt refreshed, she quickly got dressed, pulled on her favourite turquoise trilby hat and made her way to Tracy's room. She knocked on it quickly and was met by a sight that looked worse than she felt.

Sara laughed as she made her way inside. "Come on, get dressed, let's go get some coffee."

"Coffee? Another wine is all that's going to sort me out." Tracy smiled as she fixed her hair and pushed her feet into her shoes.

"Well let's start with the coffee and see where we end up." Sara winked as they made their way out of the room and down into the glorious Los Angeles sunshine.

"Oh my god, the sun is going to kill me." Tracy complained as they made their way down the street to a small coffee house.

"Don't you think you're being a bit melodramatic?" Sara asked, pushing the door open, ignoring the stares as they made their way inside.

"Do you normally attract this much attention?" Tracy laughed, nudging her in the side.

Sara shrugged, her cheeks growing red as they made their way to the counter. After ordering, they sat down on one of the large comfortable couches. Sara couldn't deny the stares she was getting. She had sharp features and high cheekbones. Her eyes were a dark, dark brown and her hair fell in soft waves around her face. Sara lifted her hat and placed it onto the table in front of them and lifted up her coffee. She stared out of the window as she listened to Tracy talking. The sun was beating down and people were walking around wearing next to nothing. She suddenly felt a million miles away from her life in Des Moines, Iowa.

"Sara? Are you listening?" the voice suddenly broke into her thoughts.

"Oh? Yeah, sorry. I was a million miles away there." Sara shrugged.

"Yeah, well I don't want to alarm you, but there's a guy over there who hasn't taken his eyes off you since we sat down." Tracy grinned into her cup.

"Huh?" Sara narrowed her eyes. "Where?"

"5 o clock." She confirmed.

"My clock or your clock?"

"Your clock. Don't turn around too quick. I'll tell you when he finally looks away. He's drawing or writing or something." Tracy glanced over Sara's shoulder. "Ok, now."

Sara slowly turned in her chair, trying to be inconspicuous until her eyes finally rested on a young man sitting in a chair over at the other side of the room. Her eyes quickly ran over him, taking in his features as he studied the paper in front of him.

"You have so got it bad!" she felt a nudge in her side and turned her head to see Tracy grinning at her like a Cheshire cat.

"I do not." Sara tried to defend herself but knew she wasn't doing a great job.

"He's cute. You should go talk to him." Tracy encouraged.

"No. Don't be stupid. Come on, we've got to go and pick up some books anyway." Sara started to get up but was quickly forced back down by her friend.

"Wait. He's looking again." Tracy continued to keep her eyes on him. "Ok, he's getting up. He's coming past."

Sara could feel her heart beating under her shirt. Sure, she had confidence with men but only once she knew them. She had never been one for making the first move. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she sensed him walking by her. Glancing up she caught his eye as he looked down at her. His baby blue eyes burning right down into her soul. She blushed as she realised just how good looking he was now that she could see him up close. He smiled softly before making his way out the door, closing it behind him.

"Whatever he was doing, he left it on the table." Tracy realised, suddenly clambering to her feet and rushing over.

"Tracy! No, leave it alone. He'll probably come back for it." Sara tried to reason with her but it was no use.

"Oh my god." Tracy exclaimed as she lifted the sheet of paper from the table. "You're not going to believe this."

"What?" Sara asked, a dreaded feeling rushing over her as she accepted the paper from her. Her eyes opened wide as they scanned over the image in front of her. It was her. But it was her in a way that she had never seen before. She had never thought of herself so beautiful or graceful as he had portrayed her in his picture.

"He clearly thinks a lot of you to sit and draw you like that. It's quite romantic." Tracy sat back down.

"Or incredibly creepy." Sara finally said.

"Rubbish." Tracy laughed. "He clearly likes you. I've never seen him before and I've lived around here for years."

"Hmm." Sara smiled as she folded the piece of paper before placing it into her bag.

"You're keeping it?" Tracy raised one eyebrow and gave her a knowing smile.

"He went to all that effort, seems a shame to leave it." Sara lied. She knew she wanted to keep it. No one had ever drawn her before and in a way it flattered her. Yesterday she had pinned different inspiring images to the wall next to her bed and she knew exactly where the drawing was going to go. She glanced down at the corner of the page and noticed the initials. _JD_ she thought. She wondered what it stood for. Suddenly she felt herself wanting to know more about this man. She was dying to know his name.

"Come on. Let's go to the bookstore." Tracy finally said, pulling Sara to her feet. She sighed as she took the final drink from her coffee and followed her friend out of the door, glancing up and down the street to see if she could see the mystery artist.

...

Eventually after a few days of settling in, Sara's classes were starting and she made her way onto campus. She rushed towards the classroom, trying to limit the sounds her heeled boots were making on the floors. She had run out of time to get ready so had to loosely tie her hair up and pull her trusty trilby on her head. Dressed in casual jeans and couple of vest tops, she had tied her scarf loosely around her neck and grabbed her bag before running out the door and heading for the class she was desperate to take.

After finally reaching the door, she leaned against the doorframe as she saw the professor making his way round the room.

"What you create will be considered art, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He was telling the students. "The journey starts right here, right now, and it's my job..." he suddenly stopped as his eyes landed on her, standing in the doorway. "To make you understand, that each of you can be artists."

Sara smiled. He was talking right to her, before he turned and made his way back to his desk. She continued to listen until the class finally finished when she made her way inside.

"Professor Hockley?" She asked, walking towards him. His back was to her and he murmured something, not lifting his head "I'm really sorry to bother you but I absolutely must take this class."

"I'm sorry." He said, still not looking up. "But my class is full." Eventually he lifted his head and his features softened as he realised who was standing in front of him. "Late girl right? What's your name?"

"Sara Matthews." She told him quickly, pulling a piece of paper from her bag. "I brought a request form and I..."

"Now why should I sign your request form when I've turned down a dozen others?" He asked, smirking. "Would that be fair?"

"No, I guess it wouldn't." She admitted. "It's alright."

"There's always other classes." He smiled.

"No, I'll wait. I wanna take your class. Thanks." Sara smiled, turning and heading for the door.

He sighed as he watched her go. "Sara." He suddenly found himself calling her name. She turned to face him and gasped as he held his hand out, indicating he wanted her form. "There's only two things I can't teach. That is style and desire."

"Thank you!" she resisted the urge to hug him, instead settling for mentally congratulating herself as she made her way out of the classroom.

"Don't be late." He called after her.

...

**A/N – Aside from the characters, that is pretty much all the references to the Roommate. I just had to go on for a while to introduce some of them. There will be a couple of other scenes you will recognise if you've seen the movie but nothing too major. Just so you all know, this is set around 1year after Mile High ended. Jack, as I'm sure you have guessed is our lovely coffee shop artist. He will be around 25 now. Sara is quite a bit younger at 19. I'm assuming you've guessed that Cal is professor Hockley. I hadn't said in Mile High what his profession was which was useful so he will now be Sara's teacher. He and Rose are still together and engaged to be married. Jack has been single ever since catching them in bed together. Despite what it seemed at the end of Mile High, he and Becky never actually got together. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Come on, I really want to go out tonight." Rebecca pulled Sara up from her bed. "There's an art show tonight that I'd really like to go and see."

"Sounds good." Sara smiled. "But on one condition." She stood up and walked towards her wardrobe, opening it up and pulling a grey leather jacket from it. She held it up to Rebecca, allowing her to push her arms into it.

"Cute." She smiled. "Who's the designer?"

"What are you? A label whore?" Sara laughed. "I got it at a flea market for twenty bucks, its vintage."

"I was just curious." Rebecca ran her hands down the jacket at as she watched Sara disappear out the door with her shower basket.

Eventually they were dressed and made their way along the main street to the art gallery where the show was being held and Sara was surprised by how busy it was already. They looked around for about an hour before finally deciding to leave.

"I've just got to go say hi to someone then we'll go." Rebecca smiled, walking away and leaving Sara to wander around looking at the paintings. She finally stopped in front of one in particular. It was of a woman and her child and something about it drew her towards it. It seemed sad and Sara felt her heartstrings tug as she looked at it.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

The voice came from nowhere and Sara turned, startled. She was surprised to come face to face with the guy from the coffee shop.

"Uh..." she started. "Yeah, it is."

"I'm Jack." He smiled, the smile reaching the corners of his eyes.

"So that's what the J stands for?" Sara asked.

"Excuse me?" he didn't understand what she meant.

"The initials you wrote on the paper you left in the coffee house. JD. I'm assuming that's your initials?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Oh so you did pick it up? I realised I forgot it and went back but when I got there, it was gone." He smiled.

Sara stared up into his eyes, unable to tell if he was being truthful. "Actually, my friend Tracy picked it up."

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Rebecca appeared beside her, linking her arm through Sara's, eyeing up the man she was talking to.

"Yeah, I am." Sara smiled, turning back to Jack. "Goodbye then."

"Goodbye." He gave her a half smile as he watched her disappear out of the building.

"Who was that?" Rebecca finally asked her.

"I have no idea." Sara answered honestly. "I saw him in the coffee house before and then he came up to me in there. He must have remembered me."

Rebecca laughed gently as she guided her in the direction of their building. "Come on. Early start tomorrow."

...

The next day, Sara made her way to Professor Hockley's class. She could hardly contain her excitement as she arrived. She had been desperate to take his class since hearing about him from her friend Irene, who had graduated the year before.

Making her way inside, she took her seat and opened up her laptop. From what Irene had told her, Professor Hockley usually covered fashion in the media in his first few classes and normally had someone who worked in media to come and talk to his class. Sara sat wondering if it was anyone she would know as she fiddled with the pen in her hand, willing the class to start.

"Contrary to popular opinion, beauty is not in the eye of the beholder." Professor Hockley began, the full class now paying attention. Sara's eyes followed him as he made his way around the classroom, much like he had done the first time she had been there. "It's in the hands of the designer."

Sara looked down at her bag as she heard her phone vibrating. She pulled it out and smiled as she saw a text from Irene.

"Who can tell me the difference between fashion and style?" Professor Hockley continued. "Miss Matthews?"

Hearing her name, she quickly closed the phone and looked up, smiling. "Fashions fade, but style is eternal."

"Yves Saint Laurent." He concurred. Exactly. All the money in the world, can't buy you style."

"But it can buy you a good stylist." She quipped, much to the amusement of her fellow classmates.

"Touché." He admitted defeat, smiling at her quick wit.

When the class ended, he called on Sara as she was packing up her things. She turned to face him and smiled as he took the seat in front of her.

"Miss Matthews..." he started.

"Sara, please." She sat back down.

"Sara, I'm due to attend a fashion show tonight on campus. Last year's graduates have put it on. I think it would be useful for you to go along to so I was wondering if you would accompany me?" he asked.

"Of course!" she said without hesitation. She knew how highly regarded the previous year had been and she was desperate to see some of their collections. "I would love to."

"Good. Well do you want to just meet me in the main building? About 7?" He smiled.

"Of course Professor, I'll see you then." Sara got to her feet.

"Cal." He said, standing with her.

"Excuse me?" she turned back to face him.

"Whilst we're outside the classroom, I'm sure its alright that you call me by my first name. It's Cal." He turned and walked away from her, making his way out of the class.

"Ok, Cal." She said softly as he disappeared. Part of her knew exactly what he was thinking, exactly what he wanted but he was the key to her success in this course. She was sure she could keep him at bay. Grabbing her bag, she made her way out of the class and back to her dorm, realising that she didn't have that long to get ready.

...

"Where are you going?" Rebecca asked as Sara rushed around trying to find jewellery to go with her outfit.

"My design professor asked me to go to a fashion show at school tonight." Sara finally pulled some earrings from her nightstand and put them in. She had borrowed a little black dress from Rebecca and slipped on a cute pair of ankle boots as she pulled on her vintage leather jacket to give it some edge.

"Are you gonna be ok?" Rebecca asked.

"I'll be fine. I'll not be late." She smiled as she rushed out the door, pulling it closed behind her.

"Wow." Cal exclaimed as he watched her walk towards him. "You look great Sara."

"Thanks." She smiled, following him inside. He led her to the row of seats and took his seat in the front, leaning his arm over the back of the seat next to him. Sara smiled nervously as she took the seat beside him.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll have a diet coke."

"Oh come on Sara. I won't tell anyone you're underage." He chuckled. "I'm sure you drink plenty when you're out with your friends. Let me get you something else. Some wine?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Sure, white wine would be fine."

He smiled and stood up, making his way over to the bar. Sara took a deep breath and tried to relax as she took in her surroundings. Her eyes ran down the length of the runway before finally resting on the solitary figure at the other side.

_Jack_

They sat staring at each other for what seemed like hours when Cal finally came back. "Here you go Sara." He smiled, handing her the glass before sitting back down beside her. He noticed her watching something and frowned when he followed her gaze and saw Jack sitting at the other side.

"Ugh, Dawson." He muttered.

"Excuse me?" Sara's eyes finally left Jack's and rested back on Cal.

"That guy you're looking at?" He asked.

"What about him?" Sara quickly looked back at him. His eyes had narrowed at Cal and he had a burning look of rage in him.

"He stole my girlfriend from me." He told her.

"What?" Sara was shocked. He looked like such a decent guy.

"Yeah. Luckily we worked through it though. We're engaged actually but she was with Jack for a few months. They met each other in New York." Cal confessed.

Sara stared at him. She didn't know what she was more shocked about. The fact that Jack had stolen his girlfriend away from him or the fact that Cal actually had a fiancé. She had been worrying about him coming onto her for nothing. "That's awful." She finally said, glancing back at Jack, a look of disgust now etched on her face.

"Yeah, well never mind. It's ancient history now." Cal smiled, taking a drink from his glass.

Sara smiled and sipped her wine as the music started and the models began walking down the catwalk showing off the designers creations, well aware that the whole time, Jack Dawson never took his eyes off her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hey." Rose looked up as she heard the front door open. She smiled as she saw Cal appear in front of her and closed the book she was reading. "How did the show go?"

Cal loosened his tie and threw it onto the couch. "It was fine."

"Did your students enjoy it?" Rose smiled.

"Oh yeah, every single one of them." Cal grimaced. He had told Rose the whole class would be there. He wasn't sure how she'd react knowing that he had only asked Sara. Ever since they had got back together, Rose had been extremely paranoid. _Guilty conscious _he thought. After all the sneaking around she did with Jack, she was constantly questioning everything he did. Cal couldn't deny he felt an attraction to Sara but she was his student. It was wrong on so many levels but despite knowing that nothing could ever happen with them, he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when he saw the interest that Dawson had in her. It was clear from the way he looked at her, the way he watched her every movement, that he was attracted to her.

"That's good then. Can I get you a drink?" Rose walked towards the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

"I'll just have a glass of wine." Cal smiled, letting himself fall down onto the sofa.

Rose poured two glasses and made her way back to the livingroom. "So, I was out walking tonight and I passed the school."

Cal took a drink from his glass. He knew exactly where this was going. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I saw you standing outside. Talking to a very pretty brunette." Rose turned to face him. "Who was she?"

"She was probably one of my students." Cal answered honestly.

"Probably?" Rose narrowed her eyes at his choice of words.

"Well I spoke to a few brunettes tonight. I don't know which one you happened to see me with." Cal snapped. He was slowly getting sick of this.

"Don't get smart with me Cal." Rose suddenly yelled, jumping to her feet.

"Rose." Cal said her name so softly, she almost didn't hear it. "It would do you well to remember the circumstance we were in last year. If you remember correctly, you were the one that was cheating on me. You were the one lying and hiding things and going behind my back. I took you back. I let you back into my life so I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to insinuate that I'm sleeping with half of L.A. just because you've done it."

Cal had barely finished his sentence when he felt the stinging sensation burn through his cheek. He turned his head quickly to face her and suddenly saw red. He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her back towards the wall.

"Don't you ever lift your hand to me again!" he screamed in her face, saliva spraying over her cheeks. Her eyes had widened as he shook her roughly, his grip tightening on her arms. "Do you understand me?"

Shaking, she nodded her head quickly. Truthfully, Rose regretted her actions as soon as her hand made contact with his skin but she had never expected this reaction from him.

"I'm going back out. I can't deal with this shit." Cal groaned, finally letting her go. He grabbed his keys and walked towards the door, pulling it closed behind him leaving Rose to crumble against the wall.

...

"So how did things go with hot stuff Hockley?" Tracy teased, taking a drink of the vodka and cola.

"Stop it." Sara smiled. "Nothing happened. It was a good show though. I saw that guy again."

Tracy looked up at her. "What guy?"

"That guy from the coffee house." Sara confirmed, smiling at the thought of his soft face. Despite what Cal had told her, she had noticed him staring at her throughout the show. He seemed to have such a kind face and although she didn't condone what he did with Cal's fiancée, it must have hurt him when they got back together.

"Ahh! The hot artist!" Tracy exclaimed, smiling. "Did you speak to him?"

"No, but Cal knows him." Sara took a drink and looked around the room they were in. It was starting to get crowded.

"Who?" Tracy turned to her, confused at the name.

"Oh, Professor Hockley." Sara felt her cheeks turn red.

"Cal? He said you can call him Cal? What is it with you and men on this campus? They all want you!" she laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Sara grinned.

Tracy took another drink. "The professor whose class was completely full but he somehow finds space for you. He invites you and only you to a fashion show and he insists you call him by his first name? Oh he's got it bad." She laughed.

"He's my professor!" Sara protested. "And he's engaged!"

"So?" Tracy laughed, turning to place her drink on the bar. As she turned back, her eyes rested on a figure appearing in the doorway. "Oh, speak of the devil."

Sara looked up at Tracy and then followed her gaze until they finally rested on Cal. She smiled softly as he made his way towards her.

"Miss Matthews." He smiled seductively.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I have called ahead first?" he joked.

Sara laughed nervously, realising how cheeky she had probably sounded. "Sorry, I didn't mean that how it sounded. I just thought you'd gone home."

"I did. But then we got into a fight. She saw me with you when we met up tonight and assumed the worst." Cal shrugged, ordering a drink from the bar.

"Oh I'm sorry." Sara suddenly felt awful if she had caused any problems between them.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. She's paranoid. Mostly because of what she did I think." Cal admitted.

Sara nodded. "Well, It's usually those who are cheating that are the most paranoid in a relationship." She blurted out, quickly covering her mouth with her hand as she remembered who she was talking to. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me."

"Don't worry about it. It's true." Cal laughed. "Anyway, I just needed a bit of space so thought I'd come here. I didn't know you would be here."

"Yeah well Tracy insisted that I stay out when the show finished. I really should go home soon though, I have an early class tomorrow." Sara smiled.

"Oh yeah, with the best professor at ULA no doubt." Cal smirked, knowing fine well that it was his class she had.

"Yeah so he thinks." Sara teased, the alcohol lowering her inhibitions slightly.

Cal raised his eyebrows and playfully nudged her in her side. She laughed as she took another drink from her glass and glanced up at Tracy who was laughing into her glass.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Sara handed her glass to Tracy and manoeuvred her way around Cal before making her way across the dance floor. Just as she reached the door, she felt someone grasp onto her hand. Turning around, she smiled as she came face to face with the artist.

"Hey." He smiled, staring right into her brown eyes. "Did you enjoy the show?"

Sara looked up at him, taking in all of his features. His dirty blond hair fell over his sea blue eyes like curtains. "Yeah, I did. Jack right?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah. Jack Dawson. So you know my name but you have me at a bit of a disadvantage."

Sara laughed, realising what he meant. "Sara Matthews." She held her hand out to him and he gratefully took it, gently shaking it. She smiled at the softness of his skin but also noticed the calloused fingertips rubbing against her. "So why do I keep seeing you around here?"

"Well my office is just down the street." Jack explained.

"Oh right. What do you work as?" Sara asked, suddenly intrigued by this man.

"I work in TV. Well not on TV, I'm a scout if you like. I source new shows and upcoming stars." Jack smiled.

"Wow, that sounds really interesting." Sara nodded along as Jack told her all about his work. They stood there talking for some time before Sara suddenly felt someone standing close behind her.

"Sara, I've been wondering where you got to." Cal smiled, handing her a fresh drink. "Dawson, nice to see you again." Cal smirked.

"Hockley." Jack acknowledged him frostily.

Sara's eyes darted from Cal to Jack, sensing the negative energy in the air between them. "Cal, I think I'm going to go home now. I'll see you in class tomorrow." Sara gulped back her drink and handed him the glass, smiling at Jack as she made her way back to the bar to get Tracy, leaving both men standing awkwardly together.

"Two men?" Tracy laughed as they made their way back to the dorms.

"I do not have two men." Sara insisted. "Cal is my professor and I've only just met Jack. Plus it sounds like there's so much baggage between them both with this girl."

"Yeah well, it wouldn't be fun without a bit of baggage. That artist guy really likes you though, it's so obvious." Tracy pulled the door open to their building and made her way inside, waving goodbye to Sara as she went inside her room.

Sara slipped the key into her door and slowly opened it, tiptoeing quietly to her bed as she saw Rebecca sleeping soundly. Quickly changing into her pyjamas, she climbed into bed and pulled the sheets up to her chin and her thoughts automatically went to Jack, the handsome artist that had somehow managed to get under her skin. She smiled to herself until she thought back over everything Cal had told her. She wondered about Jack and how he had met Cal's fiancée. She wondered if he still had feelings for her since it clearly wasn't him that ended their relationship. Things were obviously still frosty between him and Cal and Sara wasn't sure if she wanted to get involved in it all. She quickly buried her head into the pillow and forced the thoughts from her mind, concentrating only on Jack as she finally succumbed to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack finally awoke the next day, feeling like he had slept for weeks. He couldn't get that girl out of his head but as soon as he saw her with Hockley, his heart skipped a beat. What was it with him and girls that clearly had something to do with Cal. First Rose and now Sara. He wasn't sure how they knew each other but he clearly seemed taken with her. What about Rose? Was he not still with her? He hadn't heard from her since he walked out that day. She probably assumed that he and Becky had got together but nothing could have been further from the truth. Not long after he had moved back to his apartment, Becky had left the firm and he hadn't seen her for months. Part of hi wished that he could call her. He missed her terribly despite what she had done and sometimes he wished that he could just knock on her door and tell her he forgave her. Shaking his head, he stood up at the side of his bed and took a quick glance in the mirror on the wall. His hair was messy and some stubble started to appear on his chin. Yawning, he made his way through to the bathroom to have a shower before getting dressed and making his way to the coffee shop for his morning latte.

"Oh, sorry." He murmured as he opened the door to the coffee house and walked straight into a young woman.

"No it was my fault...Jack?" Sara smiled as she recognised the blue eyes looking down at her.

"Sara. Nice to see you again." Jack smiled. His day finally feeling better for seeing her.

"You too. I'm sorry for rushing off so quickly last night." She dropped her head and looked down to the floor.

"Don't worry about it. It was an interesting experience trying to make small talk with Hockley when you left" jack chuckled.

"Oh yeah, right, sorry about that." Sara hadn't thought about that at the time.

Jack smiled. "It's fine. Listen, would you like to go out for a drink sometime? Or for dinner or something?" He knew he was taking a risk but he had to at least try.

"Really? Sure, that would be great. I'm free tonight if you are?" Sara smiled, taking a drink from her coffee.

"Great. I'll pick you up about 7?" Jack smiled, unsure if he could contain his happiness.

"That's fine." Sara quickly pulled a pen and some paper from her bag and wrote down her address. "That's my dorm. My cell number is there too in case you need it."

Jack took it, glancing over it before putting it into his pocket. "Ok, I'll see you tonight." He smiled as she made her way outside, leaving him standing in the shop. He turned and made his way to the counter to order his drink.

Next to the door, Jack didn't notice the man hiding behind the large broadsheet newspaper. Cal lowered the newspaper just enough so he could watch Jacks movements. He had heard him asking Sara out on a date and he couldn't help but feel jealous. He had gone home not long after Sara had left and had walked straight into a full scale argument with Rose. She had accused him if having an affair with one of his students. Cal couldn't believe she could even accuse him of this. Not only was it completely preposterous but it could cost him his job if anyone at the school had heard this and believed it. Despite the fact that he felt an attraction to Sara, he wouldn't ever risk his career for the sake of a quick fling. Noticing Jacks back was turned, Cal quickly finished his coffee and made his way out of the shop to get to his class in time.

...

A few blocks away, Rose was pacing the living room trying to decide what to do. She hadn't slept all night and had constantly been tossing and turning beside Cal. She couldn't shift the image of Cal talking with that girl and although he insisted there was nothing going on, Rose couldn't shift the feeling that he would want to get his own back, that he would want to punish her in a way for what she did to him with Jack.

_Jack_

Just the thought of that name brought her out in goosebumps. She thought back to the nights they spent together in their hotel in New York. The way he touched and kissed her, the things he did for her. Taking her to Rockefeller centre to see the sunset, taking her to see the lion king at the theatre. He treated her a million times better than Cal ever had and despite the fact that she chose him, nothing had changed. He still didn't treat her any better. He was constantly working and when he wasn't, he was sitting in his study, drinking and ignoring her. She spent her nights alone apart from the times she had arranged to meet Caroline or the nights she was away working again. Cal always seemed so distant and it was killing her to think that he was having an affair. She knew that if she kept interrogating him, it would eventually push him away but slowly, she was starting to wonder whether she really cared. Se wondered if Jack was seeing anyone or if he had settled down with someone. Their paths had never crossed again since he stormed out her house the year before. She wondered if he would ever contemplate giving her another chance or whether she had completely blown it with him. Sitting down on the sofa, she looked around the room and thought back to the time they spent together there. Everywhere she looked, she saw reminders of him. Suddenly she looked up, realisation crept through her. She had to see him.

...

Jack finished his coffee just as he reached his building. He quickly lit up a cigarette and leaned against the wall. The sun shone down on him as he took a drag from the filter. He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the wall. When he finished, he threw the discarded cigarette on the ground and turned to make his way inside. Before he went through the door, he turned back and looked around him. He shook his head and went inside, trying to shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Rose stood quietly behind the large tree which stood in front of Jacks building. She remembered where he worked but wasn't sure if he would still be there. As she had appeared in front of the building, the familiar blond hair caught her eye and her breath caught in her throat as she watched him stop next to the door

and lean against the wall. How she wished she could go up to him. Just to walk straight up to him and kiss him like they had never been apart. She could kick herself now for going back to Cal. Why did she ever think that she would be happy with him? That things would be different? She watched him as he lifted his leg and placed the sole of his foot against the brick wall and took a quick drag of his cigarette. Finally he threw it to the ground and turned to walk to inside. Rose watched him intently as he made his way inside, pausing to turn back and look around him. She quickly hid behind the tree so he wouldn't spot her. Once he was inside, Rose leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. Just seeing him again made it clear to her that she had made a mistake.

Elsewhere, Sara was making her way to her class. She was nervous about seeing Cal again after leaving him with Jack. She hoped he wouldn't be angry with her for leaving so suddenly. The last thing that she wanted was for anything to harm her chances in this class. She took a deep breath as she slowly opened the door and made her way inside. The class was almost full but she couldn't see Cal anywhere. Sara quickly took her seat and pulled her laptop from her bag, switching it on and staring at the screen as she heard the door open behind her. She tensed up as she felt the swift movements of Professor Hockley beside her as he made his way towards the front. As he turned, his eyes glanced over the class. Sara watched him until he finally rested his eyes on her. His face softened and he gave her a slight smile as he started talking to the class. Sara breathed a quick sigh of relief as he seemed genuinely pleased to see her but he could tell there was some thing wrong with him, his eyes and face were strained as though he had been shouting or arguing. She could only imagine he must have walked back into an argument with his fiancée about disappearing back out last night. She felt bad for him, having to put up with that. She felt as though Cal was a decent man and seemed to be dealing with so much despite the fact that he had taken her back even thought she had cheated on him for so long. Cal had told Sara everything about what happened between Rose and Jack and she felt so sorry for him. She couldn't believe he had taken her back after all of it and now, here she was, treating him so badly. It didn't seem right. Even still, Sara knew she couldn't think about anything like this. It really had nothing to do with her and there was no way she was going to get involved with her Professor. Snapping out of her dream state, she looked back up at the front of the class where Cal was writing something up on the board and tried to focus on what he was saying. Eventually, the class came to an end and everyone started disappearing out of the door. Sara packed away her laptop and slowly started walking to the front of the class.

"Professor?" She said, timidly.

Cal turned to face her and his face immediately broke into a smile. "Sara."

"Listen, I just wanted to apologise for running off so suddenly last night." She looked down at the ground.

Cal suddenly stepped towards her and lifted her chin gently with his index finger. He smiled as her eyes met his. "Don't be. As much as I always enjoy these impromptu chats with Jack Dawson, I left almost straight after you."

Sara blushed as she moved her face slowly from his hand, clearly concerned in case someone was to walk in. "Well I hope you didn't get too much hassle when you got home."

"No more than usual." Cal smirked.

Sara smiled. "Well I better be going. I need to get to the library."

"Okay Miss Matthews. I'll see you later." Cal turned and started packing up his bags.

Sara stood for a few more seconds before turning and making her way out of the classroom, lifting her hat from the table and placing it onto her head and tightening her loose ponytail, unaware that Cal had turned and was watching her intently as she made her way outside. Se quickly glanced at her watch as she felt her stomach rumble. She knew she had to have something to eat soon but was keen not to eat too much since she had her date with Jack tonight. She wondered where they would be going as she made her way out of the campus and towards a cafe, intending on getting something light to eat. She pulled her cell phone from her jeans pocket as she turned the corner out of the school.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sara stuttered as she struggled to save her phone from falling onto the sidewalk.

"No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." The girl said.

Sara looked up and caught sight of the brilliant red hair falling over the girls face. Suddenly the girl stopped what she was saying as she saw Sara standing in front of her, recognising her from where she saw her with Cal. "I'm sorry again." She said quickly, rushing past her, desperate to get away from the girl she was sure was seeing Cal behind her back. Sara turned and watched as she rushed off, confused at her sudden change in behaviour. Shrugging it off, she started walking again, looking back to her phone as she heard it ringing.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Sara? It's Jack." The voice said.

Sara smiled to herself as Jack continued talking, telling her when he would be picking her up. They made arrangements to go to a local Italian restaurant and then out for a few drinks afterwards. After talking, Sara put her phone back into her pocket as she reached the cafe, walking inside to grab something quick to eat.

...

"So, I grew up in Des Moines. I lived with my dad after my folks split up when I was 12." Sara smiled, taking a drink of wine from her glass. Her and Jack sat talking for some time after they finished their meal, just getting to know each other better. Sara felt totally relaxed with him, he was incredibly easy to talk to.

Jack smiled as he listened to her telling him all about her life in Iowa before she finally moved to L.A. a few weeks before. He had told her all about things between him and Rose and how he had been completely heartbroken when he found her with Cal.

"Ex's." Sara smiled. "Who needs them. My ex Jason and I had agreed to go to college together. We both applied to Brown and I got in and he didn't and I stuck to our agreement and committed to ULA then just before classes started, a spot opens up at Brown and..."

"No!" Jack exclaimed.

"Yep." Sara sighed, taking another drink

"What an asshole." He shook his head.

"Well, sounds like we've both had our experiences of them." Sara laughed.

Jack nodded in agreement. "So, do you want to go somewhere else? A bar? And get a few drinks there?"

"Sure." Sara smiled, standing and pulling on her jacket. Jack dropped a few notes down on the table and held his hand out for Sara to take it as they walked out of the restaurant. Sara smiled and placed her hand inside his, entwining her fingers within his. They made their way outside into the warm evening air and started walking along the street. Just as they made it to the bar, Sara pushed open the door and began to walk inside. jack was about to follow her until he caught sight of something familiar out the corner of his eye. Turning his head, his mouth dropped open as he came face to face with Rose standing a few feet away from him. She was standing wrapped up in a warm coat and despite how warm it already was, she appeared to be shivering.

Jack turned to Sara who had now stopped in the doorway. Her eyes drifted across to the woman in front of Jack and she struggled to work out how she recognised her. It was then that it clicked that it was the woman she bumped into that afternoon.

"Jack?" She said, breaking him out of his trance. Rose glanced up, also hearing Sara's interruption and seemed shocked to see the girl who she thought was having an affair with Cal.

Jack turned to her. "Why don't you get us a table and a couple of drinks?" He said, handing her a twenty. "I just need to deal with something."

Sara raised her eyebrows before taking the note and heading inside. Jack knew she wasn't happy but he had to sort this out. He started walking towards Rose who quickly turned on her heel and rushed off.

"Rose!" He shouted after her. Looking back to the bar, he decided he had to see what Rose wanted and rushed after her.

Sara sat down at a table and pulled her jacket off and ordered another couple of glasses of wine, taking a large drink from one when it arrived as she sat waiting. Twenty minutes later, Sara had finished both glasses. She glanced at her watch and then up at the door, willing Jack to walk through it.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waiter said, interrupting her thoughts.

Sara took another look at her watch and sighed. "No thanks, I'm just leaving." She stood up and lifted her jacket from the back of her chair and pulled it on before making her way out of the bar, glancing up and down the street as she left, hoping to catch sight of Jack. Wiping a tear from her cheek, she pulled her jacket tight to her as she made the long walk back to her dorm. What was it with men? Why hadn't she listened to Cal when he warned her about Jack? Se knew deep down that woman was Rose. No wonder she acted so strange with her that afternoon when they bumped into each other. Rose clearly still thought she was seeing Cal. Shrugging it off, she kept walking until she finally reached her dorm, closing the door behind her and collapsing into bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I'm so sorry or not posting until now. I've just sold my house and things have been manic so I've not had a minute! So to make up for it, I'm posting an extra long chapter! Enjoy :-)**

"What do you mean you just walked home?" Tracy raged. "Sara, you can't just be walking around LA in the middle of the night, this is not Des Moines."

"I know, I know." Sara ran the straighteners through her hair and sighed. "But what else was I supposed to do? Just wait there forever until he finally showed up? And what if he didn't? What if he went after her and just left me there?"

"Then he's an asshole. Either way, what he did was completely out of order. I hope you're not going to see him again." Tracy stared at her, watching her intently as she started doing her make up in the large mirror on her wall.

"I don't know. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what this girl still means to him. I really don't want to get involved in all of this though. I mean, I'm seeing a guy who used to date the girl who cheated on my professor. How messed up is that?" Sara put the make up brush down and turned to Tracy. "Come on, it's Saturday. Lets go to a bar."

"I thought you'd never say that!" Tracy laughed, getting to her feet and making her way to the door. She pulled it open quickly and almost walked into Rebecca. "Hey Becky." She smiled.

"Rebecca." She quickly corrected her.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Do you want to come out for a drink with us?" Tracy offered.

"No, not just now. I have some work to do. I'll maybe catch up with you both later." She said as she walked past Tracy and sat on the bed, opening up her sketchbook.

"Ok then, no problem." Tracy rolled her eyes and started to walk out into the hall.

"Bye Rebecca." Sara smiled back at her before following Tracy outside and closing the door behind her.

"Your roommate is so weird." Tracy teased, linking her arm through Sara's as they made their way to the elevator.

"She's not weird." Sara laughed, defending her roommate as much as she could. "She just likes her own space."

"Right." Tracy agreed. "Weird!"

Sara shook her head and laughed as the elevator descended down to the ground floor. They made their way outside into the warm sunshine. Sara smiled as the heat hit her face. She had pulled on a black vest top and a pair of skinny jeans and had her feet slipped into a pair of flat sandals. She loved this time of year and despite her original reservations about coming to LA, she was really enjoying it, although the previous night had dampened her mood slightly. She pulled her sunglasses down over her dark brown eyes and allowed Tracy to guide them towards the nearby bar. As they arrived at their destination, Tracy headed to the bar and pointed towards the doors at the back of the large room, instructing Sara to find them a seat in the beer garden. Sara nodded and made her way towards them and pushed the doors open so they allowed a huge stream of sunlight to seep through the dark room she was in. She looked around and quickly spotted a table basking in the Los Angeles sunshine and made her way to it, dropping her bag down beside her. A few minutes later, Tracy had arrived carrying two bottles of wine and two glasses. Sara laughed as she watched her try to juggle everything in her hands before she finally sat down and opened one of the bottles, pouring the contents into both their glasses.

"Here's to life without worthless men!" Tracy cheered, holding up her glass.

"Amen to that." Sara laughed, clinking their glasses together and taking a large gulp. The two sat talking and drinking for most of the afternoon until the sun slowly started to disappear.

...

Jack paced back and forth in his living room, much like he had done for most of the day. He hated himself for leaving Sara the way he did. By the time he had caught up with Rose, she had yelled at him some obscenities about him moving on with the very woman that was trying to steal Cal from her. Jack had stared at her in disbelief, unable to comprehend what she was saying.

"Hold on a minute Rose. You left Cal, then I catch you cheating on me with him and now I'm the one in the wrong because I've moved on? Plus Sara isn't after Cal. He's her professor. You've completely got the wrong end of the stick. You've no right to tell me who I can and can't see. You gave up that right the moment I found you with him in our bed." Jack had retaliated. Quickly after that, he had left her and begun walking back to the bar, praying that Sara was still there. He really liked her and wanted to see how things could go but now, yet again, Rose had ruined his happiness. By the time he had made it back, Sara had gone. He looked around the tables and finally his eyes had rested on a single table that the waiter was cleaning. Sitting on it was two empty wine glasses.

"Are you looking for the lady?" His thoughts were interrupted by the waiter. Turning to him, he slowly nodded. "She left about ten minutes ago. Actually, she left something." The waiter turned and walked behind the bar, grabbing something from one of the shelves underneath. Jack recognised the grey material straight away as the light scarf she had been wearing. He handed it to Jack and smiled. "Perhaps you could take it back to her...and apologise."

Jack looked up at him, confused.

"It's none of my business but she seemed very upset when she left. And clearly from the two glasses, she was expecting someone. I'm guessing that someone was you and you were late." He explained, almost as if he was reading Jacks mind. "She's a pretty girl. I'd go apologise if I were you. I wouldn't want to let a beauty like that slip out my fingers" he smiled with a friendly wink.

Jack understood completely and folded the scarf up in his hands before offering his free hand to the waiter. "Thanks." He smiled before walking out of the door and heading back to his apartment. He knew Sara probably wouldn't want to see him at that time so he mentally agreed with himself to seek her out tomorrow. Now here he was, pacing his apartment after going to her dorm and finding out she was out somewhere with her friend. Jack stopped pacing for a minute and looked down at the scarf lying on his sofa. He sat down beside it and lifted it up to his nose, taking in the scent of her. He could smell her perfume from it and suddenly it felt as though she was there. He smiled as he imagined her beautiful face and how she looked when she gave him one of those wide smiles. Her eyes brightened up and sparkled when she did and the corners of her mouth almost reached right up to her eyes. She truly was beautiful. Pulling the scarf tightly to his face, he blocked out all the light in the room and tried to work out what to do.

...

"So where did you get to last night?" Cal questioned her. Honestly, he couldn't care less where she was, he was glad of the peace and quiet in their house when he had got back from work but curiosity had got the better of him when she had appeared home after 1am.

"I was just out for a walk." Rose told him.

Cal scoffed. "After midnight? Where could you possibly be walking at that time?"

"Just around alright!" Rose's voice raised to a yell. She wasn't used to being questioned like this. Usually it was her having to question Cal.

Cal placed the brandy glass on the table and stood from the chair he was sitting in. "If you say so Rose." He murmured as he walked towards the staircase and made his way upstairs. It was almost time for them to eat dinner but Cal wasn't hungry. He just wanted to be alone, away from this mad woman. Part of him wanted to end it all with her. He was kidding himself if he ever thought they would be happy. He just hadn't liked the thought of losing out to Dawson. He couldn't let him have her without a fight but once he had won, he had lost all interest in the game.

"Where are you going?" She yelled after him.

"Away from you." He screamed back, slightly louder than he had intended to. He looked around his surroundings. He had moved in with Rose some time ago when she had first bought the place after securing a promotion at work. She had taken so much pride in it and had decorated it amazingly. Cal walked around the top floor walking in and out of all the rooms. Why was he here? He didn't want to be here. He had kept his own place about a mile away so easily could have walked away from Rose but something was stopping him but he had no idea what it was. He was normally the alpha male in relationships but no matter how many times Rose yelled at him, even when she had hit him, he couldn't force himself to leave her. She had some kind of hold on him and it drove him crazy. Finally giving in, he had found himself in his bedroom where he removed his clothes and climbed into bed, pulling the sheets tightly around him.

...

"So then the guy says to me..." Tracy laughed, trying to walk along the sidewalk without falling over. "He says to me..." Suddenly she stopped, with a vacant look on her face. "You know what, I can't remember what he said to me!" She cried out with laughter as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

Sara laughed along with her, trying to hold her up. They had both had quite a lot to drink that day but Tracy sitting directly in the sun all day probably hadn't helped. She directed her towards their dorms and instructed her to sit on the floor outside her room as Sara rummaged through her bag, attempting to find her friends key. Finding them at the bottom of the bag, she smiled as she slipped it into the lock and opened the door before helping Tracy to her feet.

"Come on." She laughed as she pulled her across the room and finally dropped her into her bed. Quickly removing her clothes, she lifted her feet and placed them under the duvet before tucking the sheets over her and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. Sara smiled as she left the set of keys lying on her nightstand before making her way back to her own room. She found her own keys and opened the door quietly, trying not to wake Rebecca. As she opened the door, she stared ahead, confused as she saw Rebecca's bed lying empty. She looked around but she was definitely no where to be seen. She was about to close the door until she heard the whisper of her name. Peeking her head back out into the corridor, her heart bounced up into her throat as she saw Jack standing there. Just the image of him in front of her was enough to bring her whole body out in goosebumps. He was lean but muscular and the way his floppy blond hair fell in front of his piercing blue eyes was enough to make her melt. Just as she felt as though she may just run into his arms, she remembered how angry she was with him. A scowl appeared on her face as she turned to go back into her dorm and close the door. Jack rushed towards it and threw his hand up in to stop the door before she could close it properly.

"Sara, please just hear me out." He begged.

"Why should I?" She asked, feeling as though the tears might start falling from her eyes.

"Look, I know I treated you badly but you need to listen to me. It's not what you think, I swear. Please just let me explain."

Jack continued to beg her to listen to him until she finally gave in and slowly opened the door. "You've got five minutes. How did you find me anyway?"

"I saw you coming into the campus with Tracy. I followed you." He admitted.

"Oh so your an asshole and a stalker?" She asked.

Jack shook his head. "Honestly, I'm neither. You need to believe that. I made a huge mistake in going after Rose. I just had to see what she wanted. Call it closure if you like. But nothing's changed. She went nuts at me and accused you of going after Cal. I told her that she was crazy before I finally left her. I told her that things were finished with us and she can't just show up like this and try to control my life. She chose Hockley so she's got him now."

Sara sat on the bed listening to Jack as he explained everything.

"I got back to the bar not long after you left. The waiter gave me this." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out her scarf, handing it to her. She smiled as she took it from him.

"I forgot I had left that." She whispered.

"He also gave me some advice. He told me to come here and apologise because I'd be nuts if I let you get away." He told her.

"So your only here on the advice of a waiter?" Her eyes narrowed at him.

"No! I'm here because I want to be. But I'd have probably just assumed I'd messed this up and you wouldn't want to see me again. His convinced me that I should fight for what I want." He explained. Jacks eyes slowly lifted from her face and up to the wall behind her. His eyes drifted over the pictures and posters she had pinned up until they finally rested on one.

"You actually kept that?" He asked.

Sara allowed her eyes to follow his gaze although she knew exactly what he was referring to. "It's the only time anyone's ever drawn me. I wanted to keep it."

Jack smiled and slowly moved closer to her, unsure how she would react. He made it to her desk without her saying anything and pulled the chair out from underneath it and sat down.

"Look Sara, I'm sorry for leaving you like that. Please let me make it up to you and give me another chance. I really think this could be something amazing." He reached down and gently grazed her fingertips. Without saying anything, she allowed her fingers to widen so he could slip his in between. She watched as his calloused fingertips rubbed her knuckles and played with the ring on her finger before finally allowing her eyes to drift up his arm before finally resting on his gentle face. He smiled at her softly and she allowed herself to smile back before tugging on his hand, indicating she was allowing him next to her. Slowly he stood from the chair and sat down on the edge of the bed, unsure how close she wanted him. He could smell the perfume which had been haunting him all day and suddenly he felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her. As if sensing this, she pulled him closer until his body was leaning against hers. He felt the tension between them straight away and he knew from her face that she could sense it to. His eyes drifted from hers down to her pink lips and he reached his hand up and ran his thumb along the bottom of them, gently cupping her chin. Apprehensively, he leaned forward slowly, as if waiting for her to say no, but it never came. He looked back up at her eyes and noticed them slowly closing. Taking that as a sign, he leaned forward and allowed his lips to capture hers, smiling to himself as she sank into his arms. He deepened the kiss and pulled her closer to him, desperate to keep her. Eventually she broke the kiss and pulled back from him, gently panting. She stared at him and lifted her hand to her lips, almost feeling the heat from them. Unable to take much more anticipation, she leaned forward again and allowed herself to be wrapped up in him. Jack pulled her tightly to him as she voluntarily lay back on the bed. He unwittingly climbed on top of her and allowed his body to rest against his. Suddenly he felt her hands move from his arms around to his back, tracing the top of his jeans under his shirt. Sara softly gripped onto his t shirt and started to pull it up. He pulled back from her kiss and looked deep into her eyes, almost checking for authorisation. She smiled and nodded gently as he allowed her to lift the shirt up over the head. He kissed her again as they slowly undressed each other and got under the sheets. That night, Sara allowed Jack to make love to her, finally accepting his apology and realising that he really wasn't a bad guy. Afterwards, she buried her face into his chest and fell asleep in his arms listening to the sound of his heart beating, feeling more content than she had done in years.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Tracy awoke the next day by the offensive sunlight which streamed through the window onto her bed. She rubbed her eyes and groaned slightly as she tried to work out where she was. Looking around, she realised she was in her dorm, wrapped up in her sheets and smiled as she remembered Sara helping her into bed. She shook her head and mentally scolded herself for getting that drunk. Tracy hauled herself up from her bed and walked towards her closet and grabbed some shorts and a shirt and pulled them on. She needed coffee and quickly so she lifted her keys and slipped her feet into her sneakers and made her way along to Sara's room. As she locked her door, she glanced up as she heard the sound of footsteps along the corridor and gasped as she saw Jack coming out of Sara's room and heading towards the elevator. He hadn't noticed her there but she continued to watch him until he finally got in the elevator and the doors closed. Tracy narrowed her eyes back at Sara's door and walked quickly towards it before knocking gently and then pushing the door open. Sara was sat against the wall with the sheets wrapped around her and she was gazing dreamily out of the window.

"Sara?" Tracy finally said, pulling her from her dream state.

"Oh hey." She smiled softly. "I didn't even hear you come in."

"What was he doing here?" Tracy demanded, not acknowledging her comment.

Sara sighed. She had hoped that Jack could have got out without Tracy seeing him but clearly she hadn't been so lucky. "He was here waiting for me last night after I put you to bed. We talked for a while and sorted things out." She said, offering no more information.

"Sorted things out?" Tracy tilted her head.

"Yes. Exactly."

"So that's why he's leaving at this time of the morning?" Tracy placed her hand on her hips.

"Don't look at me like that." Sara smiled. "Yes he spent the night here."

Tracy shook her head before finally allowing herself to laugh along with her friend. "I hope you know what you're getting into. I don't want you getting hurt but as long as he's good to you then that's all I care about. Anyway, come on. I am in desperate need of caffeine."

"Ok, let me just get dressed." Sara said, rising from her bed and going to her closet to get dressed. She tied her hair up loosely and they made their way to the coffee house.

...

Meanwhile, Rose wandered past the University trying to work out what she wanted. She felt as though she was stuck in limbo. She thought she didn't want Cal but as soon as she had got together with Jack, she missed him. He didn't treat her particularly well but something inside her always made her feel as though she was missing out. But now she was back with Cal, she couldn't get Jack out of her mind. As she wandered aimlessly, she lifted her head up as something moving in front of her caught her eye. She recognised the figure anywhere. That lean, muscular body belonged to no one else but Jack. He rushed off ahead of her, not seeing her at the bottom of the street. She stood frozen for what seemed like an eternity before she finally started walking along in his direction. She looked up at the building he had come out of. It looked like one of the University's dorms. As she looked over the building, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughter. She looked down at the door and strained her eyes until they focused on the two women walking down the path towards her. She quickly noticed the brunette as being the girl that Jack had been with a couple of nights before. Suddenly it dawned on her why Jack would have been there. Realising this, she quickly turned and made her way back along the road she had just walked down but not before Sara had looked up and spotted her rushing away.

"Hey, Tracy..." she said.

"What?"

"See that girl?" Sara pointed to Rose as she walked briskly past the iron fence.

"Yeah? What about her?" Tracy watched the girl rushing off.

"That's her."

Tracy looked confused. "That's who?"

"That girl that Jack used to go out with. The one that's dating Professor Hockley. I wonder what she's doing here." Sara questioned.

"Who knows." Tracy shrugged. "Anyway, who cares. Jack's told you he's not interested in her, end of story."

"Yeah I know. It just seems strange that she would be here." Sara watched her disappear round a corner before they made their way inside the coffee house.

...

"Cal, I want you to go."

Cal looked up from his Sunday paper at Rose who has just come home from yet another one of her "walks."

"Excuse me?" he stared at her.

"I'm not happy. You're not happy. So I think you should go. For good." Rose stated again.

He couldn't believe this. Yes, they weren't happy but this wasn't what he expected. She was so cold and calculating. She just stared at him, her green eyes looking completely dead to him. He threw his paper down on the table and stood up from the chair, making his way to the staircase.

"Fine." He snapped, making his way upstairs and into their bedroom where he threw some clothes in a bag. Once he'd packed, he stomped back down where Rose was still standing in the exact same position, a complete non expression on her face. "Goodbye then." He said.

"Bye." She stared straight through him as he walked towards the door.

"Is that all you can say? Aren't you even going to give me a proper explanation?" Cal demanded, holding the door open.

"What else can I say?" She shrugged. "You can't honestly tell me this is working?"

Cal shook his head before storming out of the door, slamming it behind him. Rose watched him through the window as he got into his car and sped off down the street. Once he was gone, she collapsed onto the couch and pulled the cushion to her. She stared into space before finally allowing tears to fall. Eventually she wiped her eyes and stood up. She knew that leaving Cal was the best thing and at least this time, she had been honest and up front about not wanting to be with him and had asked him to leave before doing anything else. Now she could tell Jack how she felt and that she was desperate to get him back. She knew she loved him move than she had loved anyone. Ever since she had first met him at LAX and he had picked up her earring. It had seemed like they were meant to meet each other but she had completely ruined it but now she was hopeful he might forgive her finally and they could be together. But there was just one thing she had to deal with and that was this new girl he seemed to have on the scene. She would definitely need to go.


End file.
